Commerce Act 1986

Consumer protection in relation to water services - Other measures relating to protecting consumers of water services - Compliance

57ZM: Court may make compensatory orders for contravention of Commission service quality code

You could also call this:

"Courts can order you to pay compensation to people affected by your actions if you break service quality rules."

If you break a Commission service quality code and the court orders you to pay a penalty under section 57ZK, the court can also order you to pay compensation to anyone who has been affected by your actions. You might have to pay compensation to someone who has lost money or been damaged because of what you did. The court can make this order even if the affected person is not part of the court case.

The Commission or the person who was affected by your actions can ask the court to make this order. The court has the power to make a compensatory order whether or not the affected person is involved in the court case. This means you could be ordered to pay compensation to someone who is not even in court.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on 10 September 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS1506118.

Topics:

Money and consumer rights > Consumer protectionBusiness > Fair trading

57ZL: Maximum amount of pecuniary penalty, or

"Maximum penalty for breaking service quality rules is $300,000"

57ZN: Court may grant injunctions for contravention of Commission service quality code, or

"Courts can stop you if you break service quality rules"

Part 4AConsumer protection in relation to water services
Other measures relating to protecting consumers of water services: Compliance

57ZMCourt may make compensatory orders for contravention of Commission service quality code

If the court orders a person to pay a pecuniary penalty order under section 57ZK in respect of a contravention of a Commission service quality code, the court may, in addition, order the person to pay compensation to any person who has suffered, or is likely to suffer, loss or damage as a result of the contravention (an aggrieved person).
An application for an order under this section may be made by the Commission or any aggrieved person.
The court may make a compensatory order whether or not the aggrieved person is a party to the proceeding.

Compare

2023 No 54 s 87

Notes

Section 57ZM: inserted, on 27 August 2025, by section 15 of the Local Government (Water Services) (Repeals and Amendments) Act 2025 (2025 No 43).